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Health

Israeli who recovered from COVID-19 reinfected with South African strain

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For the first time, an Israeli man who previously recovered from the coronavirus was found Sunday to be reinfected with the so-called South African strain, Hebrew media reported.

The diagnosis came amid continued uncertainty on the effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that Israel is using for its mass inoculation program against the new strains of the virus.

Ziv Yaffe, 57, from the central region of the country, recently returned from Turkey. Speaking to Channel 12 news, he said that whereas during his first infection in August he had “all the symptoms,” the second time around he felt fine.

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Yaffe returned to Israel on January 16. By January 23, he had a bit of a runny nose and decided to get a virus test, as he was participating in follow-up research at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. The test showed that he was reinfected and further testing revealed that he had caught the South African mutation.

Shai Efrati, head of research and development at the medical center, told the station that Yaffe’s case was unique because doctors had a complete medical record of his bouts with the virus.

“It is the first time that we have a full record, of infection, recovery, reinfection, and that the antibodies that he had protected him from the mutation,” Efrati said.

“What we learn is that when there are antibodies, they protect against illness,” he said.

Screen capture from video of Ziv Yaffe, left, who was reinfected with the coronavirus, and Shai Efrati of the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. (Channel 12 news)

Efrati cautioned that it was too early to conclude that anyone who has had the disease is also protected against other mutations, saying it would require more similar cases before such conclusions could be drawn.

But, he added, Yaffe’s case is “very encouraging.”

Yaffe said that in addition to not feeling unwell, family members and others had been in close contact with him during the period of his second infection, yet none caught the virus from him.

His case is the second time the South African variant has been brought into Israel from Turkey, according to the Ynet website.

Health officials are concerned that the South African mutation, similar to the British and Californian strains which are considered more infectious, could lead to another wave of the virus among those who have recovered from previous infection and are not being vaccinated as part of the immunization drive.

All previous patients with the South African mutation, first discovered in South Africa in December, were people who came back to the country from South Africa, Ethiopia, or Dubai, according to the report.

Sharon Alroy-Preis, the acting head of the ministry’s public health division, speaks virtually to the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee on January 6, 2021. (Screen capture: YouTube)

On Saturday, Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of public health services at the Health Ministry, told the Kan public broadcaster there were preliminary indications the coronavirus vaccines may prove less effective in shielding against the South African variant.

“We don’t have evidence yet that any of the variants are completely resistant to the vaccine, but there is some preliminary evidence to say that perhaps the effectiveness of the vaccine is somewhat less against the South African variant,” Alroy-Preis said.

She said testing was still in progress to clarify the matter.

Pfizer and BioNTech, whose vaccine is being used in Israel’s world-leading vaccine drive, said Thursday that early tests suggest their immunization would be protective against the variants from South Africa and Britain.

Their study found that the antibodies were able to neutralize all the sets of mutations tested. It noted that the effect was “slightly lower” against three mutations in the variant found in South Africa, including E484K. But the firms said that it was “unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine.”

The Health Ministry last week confirmed that three more cases of the South African coronavirus variant have been found in Israel, bringing the total number of infections from the strain to 30. Three of the cases were discovered in a random sampling, raising concerns of undetected community spread.

Meanwhile, the British variant is spreading wildly in Israel, with health officials blaming the continued high coronavirus caseload after weeks of lockdown on the UK mutation. The daily infections continue to remain in the thousands, despite Israel’s strict restrictions and vaccination campaign.

A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection at a vaccination center in Jerusalem, on January 28, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Over 3 million Israelis — almost one-third of its population — have received the first dose of the vaccine, and 1.7 million have received both shots. The shots are being administered according to a plan that began with medical workers, those over the age of 60 and at-risk groups, with the age limit dropping steadily as more citizens complete the two-shot vaccination cycle.

In an effort to keep the virus variants out of the country, Israel has closed its main international airport, including to its own citizens. The order is set to expire Sunday, but will likely be extended.

The government on Sunday is expected to extend the nationwide lockdown by another week to drive down infection rates.

Since the start of the virus outbreak early last year 641,373 people in Israel have been diagnosed with the virus, according to Health Ministry figures released Sunday. The death toll stood at 4,768.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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Health

South African coronavirus variant confirmed in Maryland, 3rd US case

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  • Maryland officials said a Baltimore man caught the coronavirus variant first found in South Africa.
  • The man had not traveled abroad and likely caught the variant locally, said Maryland’s governor.
  • The mutant variant is more contagious, but not thought to be more deadly. 
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The US has identified its third case of the more contagious coronavirus variant found in South Africa – this time in a man from Maryland.

The man, from the Baltimore region, had not traveled outside the country, Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement, which means it’s “likely” he caught it in the community.

This is the third case of the variant found in the US: South Carolina state officials announced Thursday the first two confirmed cases of the variant in the country. Neither person had travelled outside the US, and the two cases were not connected, state health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the variant, named B.1.351, can “spread more easily and quickly,” but there is no evidence it is more deadly. The variant has a mutation on its spike protein, which is what the coronavirus uses to invade human cells.

Read more: Coronavirus variants threaten to upend pandemic progress. Here’s how 4 top vaccine makers are fighting back.

Hogan said Maryland health officials were trying to identify and test the man’s contacts, as well as “closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state.” 

“We strongly encourage Marylanders to practice extra caution to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant. Please continue to practice standard public health and safety measures, including mask wearing, regular hand washing, and physical distancing.”

The man did not need to go to hospital and is recovering at home, Maryland health department spokesman Charles Gischlar told The Washington Post.

Maryland has confirmed 352,726 cases of COVID-19. Nationwide, nearly 26 million cases have been confirmed, and the virus has killed more than 435,000 people, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Studies suggest vaccines are effective against the variant

The latest evidence suggests that vaccines work against the variant – albeit slightly less effectively than against the original virus. 

A study published Wednesday showed Pfizer and BioNTech’s vaccine worked against a lab-made coronavirus similar to the South Africa variant. Performance was slightly lower than against the original virus, but this was “unlikely to lead to a significant reduction” in effectiveness, the drug companies said. Moderna announced similar results of a study on Monday.

There is not yet sufficient data to say whether vaccines work against the variant outside of laboratory conditions.

Some studies have suggested the variant may be able to evade antibodies produced by the body. Both Pfizer and Moderna, who make the two vaccines authorized in the US, are developing new versions of their vaccines to counter the variant.

President Joe Biden has banned travelers from South Africa from entering the US.

The US has also reported cases of mutant variants found in Brazil and the UK. The variant first identified in the UK, B.1.1.7, is the most widespread of the three variants now confirmed in the US, and experts believe it has been circulating in the US for several weeks.

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US

South African COVID-19 variant case identified in Maryland

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Health officials identified a case of the South African COVID-19 B.1.351 variant in Maryland.The case announced Saturday involves an adult living in the Baltimore metro area who has no recent international travel. Comprehensive contact tracing is underway, state officials said.The new variant’s presence in Maryland was confirmed by the Maryland Department of Health in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.State officials said the B.1.351 variant has not been shown to cause more severe illness or increased risk of death when compared to other variants. The variant is believed to be more transmissible than other strains.According to the governor’s office, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of available vaccines against the B.1.351 variant; however, initial evidence suggests that vaccines are still likely to be protective against the variant. It is also expected that currently available diagnostic tests will detect the B.1.351 variant.”State health officials are closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. “We strongly encourage Marylanders to practice extra caution to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant. Please continue to practice standard public health and safety measures, including mask wearing, regular hand washing and physical distancing.”The B.1.351 variant was initially detected in South Africa. It was first identified in the United States on Thursday through two cases in South Carolina.Viruses constantly change, or mutate, and new variants of viruses are expected to occur over time.The B.1.351 variant is the second variant of COVID-19 identified in Maryland. The first variant identified in Maryland was B.1.1.7, commonly known as “the UK variant,” which MDH announced that it identified on Jan. 12. Seven total cases of B.1.1.7 have been identified in Maryland since that time.This report will be updated.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —

Health officials identified a case of the South African COVID-19 B.1.351 variant in Maryland.

The case announced Saturday involves an adult living in the Baltimore metro area who has no recent international travel. Comprehensive contact tracing is underway, state officials said.

The new variant’s presence in Maryland was confirmed by the Maryland Department of Health in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

State officials said the B.1.351 variant has not been shown to cause more severe illness or increased risk of death when compared to other variants. The variant is believed to be more transmissible than other strains.

According to the governor’s office, more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of available vaccines against the B.1.351 variant; however, initial evidence suggests that vaccines are still likely to be protective against the variant. It is also expected that currently available diagnostic tests will detect the B.1.351 variant.

“State health officials are closely monitoring the B.1.351 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the state,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement. “We strongly encourage Marylanders to practice extra caution to limit the additional risk of transmission associated with this variant. Please continue to practice standard public health and safety measures, including mask wearing, regular hand washing and physical distancing.”

The B.1.351 variant was initially detected in South Africa. It was first identified in the United States on Thursday through two cases in South Carolina.

Viruses constantly change, or mutate, and new variants of viruses are expected to occur over time.

The B.1.351 variant is the second variant of COVID-19 identified in Maryland. The first variant identified in Maryland was B.1.1.7, commonly known as “the UK variant,” which MDH announced that it identified on Jan. 12. Seven total cases of B.1.1.7 have been identified in Maryland since that time.

This report will be updated.

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World

More than 200,000 flee ‘apocalyptic’ conflict in Central African Republic

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More than 200,000 people have fled fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR) since violence erupted over a December election result, the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said, with nearly half crossing into the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The CAR army, backed by U.N., Russian and Rwandan troops, has been battling rebels seeking to overturn a Dec. 27 vote in which President Faustin-Archange Touadera was declared the winner.

“Refugees have told UNHCR that they fled in panic when they heard gun shots, leaving their belongings behind,” spokesman Boris Cheshirkov told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

The nation of nearly five million people — larger than mainland France, Belgium and Luxemburg combined —and rich in diamonds, timber and gold, has struggled to find stability since a 2013 rebellion ousted former president Francois Bozize.

The current fighting between a coalition of militias on the one side and the national army and its backers on the other, was sparked by a Constitutional Court decision to bar Bozize’s candidacy in the Dec. 27 presidential election.

Former prime minister Martin Ziguele, who came third in the Dec. 27 election, said on Friday there was fighting across the country every day, preventing movement between towns and pushing more people to flee.

“I cannot leave Bangui and go 90 km (60 miles) without a heavily-armed army escort. Imagine then the population. Add the curfew and the state of emergency, it is really an apocalyptic situation,” Ziguele told Reuters by phone.

In a statement on Friday, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, a regional body of 12 member states, called for a ceasefire and urged armed groups to “disengage from the encirclement of Bangui” and allow people and goods to move freely.

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The body will also ask the United Nations Security Council to lift an arms embargo imposed on CAR that has restricted the flow of weapons to the army since 2013.

About 92,000 refugees have reached DRC and more than 13,000 have crossed into Cameroon, Chad and the Republic of Congo — the rest are displaced inside the Central African Republic, the UNHCR said.

Ongoing attacks have hampered humanitarian access, the main road used to bring supplies has been forced to shut inside the country, and many are now facing “dire conditions,” UNHCR’s Cheshirkov said.

Some of the displaced are so desperate they have agreed to sex in return for food, he added. While malaria, respiratory tract infections, and diarrhea have become common.

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Business

J&J vaccine adds to COVID-19 armoury, includes South African variant

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(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson said on Friday that its single-dose vaccine was 66% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a large global trial against multiple variants, giving health officials another weapon to tackle the pandemic.

In the trial of nearly 44,000 volunteers, the level of protection against moderate and severe COVID-19 varied from 72% in the United States, to 66% in Latin America and just 57% in South Africa, from where a worrying variant has spread.

The data showed that the vaccine’s effect on the South Africa variant was diminished compared to the unaltered virus, but infectious disease and public health experts said it can still help contain the virus spread and prevent deaths.

Midstage trial data from Novavax on Thursday also documented lower effectiveness in South Africa.

Rival shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna were both around 95% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in pivotal trials when given in two doses.

Those trials were conducted mainly in the United States and before the emergence of new variants. These mean that the world is racing against time and with limited supplies to vaccinate as many people as possible, and quickly, to prevent virus surges.

COVID-19 is rising in 37 countries and infections have surpassed 101 million globally.

Top U.S. infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said the world needs to vaccinate quickly to try to get ahead of these changes in the virus.

“It’s really a wake up call for us to be nimble and to be able to adjust as this virus will continue for certain to evolve,” Fauci said.

J&J’s main goal was the prevention of moderate to severe COVID-19, and the vaccine was 85% effective in stopping severe disease and preventing hospitalization across all geographies and against multiple variants 28 days after immunization.

That “will potentially protect hundreds of millions of people from serious and fatal outcomes of COVID-19,” Paul Stoffels, J&J’s chief scientific officer, said.

J&J shares were down 4% at $162.7 at 1700 GMT, with some Wall Street analysts saying its vaccine’s effectiveness was below those of rivals. Moderna’s stock gained 8% to $172.80.

SEEKING APPROVAL

J&J plans to seek emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration next week and will soon follow up with the European Union and the rest of the world.

It has said it plans to deliver 1 billion doses of the vaccine, which it will make in the United States, Europe, South Africa and India, in 2021.

Public health officials are counting on it to increase much-needed supply and simplify immunization in the United States, which has a deal to buy 100 million doses of J&J’s vaccine and an option for an additional 200 million.

J&J said the vaccine would be ready immediately upon emergency approval, but Stoffels declined to say how many doses.

“The key is not only overall efficacy but specifically efficacy against severe disease, hospitalization, and death,” said Walid Gellad, a health policy associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

J&J’s vaccine uses a common cold virus to introduce coronavirus proteins into cells and trigger an immune response, whereas the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines employ a new technology called messenger RNA.

Unlike these vaccines, J&J’s does not require a second shot weeks after the first or need to be kept frozen, making it a strong candidate for use in parts of the world where transportation and cold storage present problems.

“Most countries are still desperate to get their hands on doses, regardless of whether or not the vaccine is considered highly effective. Moderately effective will do just fine for now,” Michael Breen, Director of Infectious Diseases and Ophthalmology at research firm GlobalData, said.

‘OVERWHELMED’

Several studies have emerged this month showing that a South African variant has mutated in areas of the virus that are key targets of vaccines, reducing their efficacy.

“What we are learning is there is different efficacy in different parts of the world,” Stoffels told Reuters.

In a sub-study of 6,000 volunteers in South Africa, Stoffels said, the J&J vaccine was 89% effective at preventing severe disease. In the South Africa portion of the trial, 95% of cases were infections with the South African variant.

“I am overwhelmed by the fact that this vaccine protected against severe disease even in South Africa,” said Glenda Gray, the joint lead investigator of the South African vaccine trial.

In the J&J trial, which was conducted in eight countries, 44% of participants were from the United States, 41% from Central and South America and 15% from South Africa. Just over a third of the volunteers were over 60.

Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Additional reporting by Manas Mishra, Dania Nadeem and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengalaru, Rebecca Spalding and Michael Erman in New York and Promit Mukherjee in Johannesburg; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Peter Henderson, Edwina Gibbs, Keith Weir and Caroline Humer

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US

Novavax says its Covid-19 vaccine is 89 percent effective, but less so against South African variant

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Novavax, which is based in Maryland, has never brought a vaccine to market. The Trump administration awarded the company $1.6 billion to develop and test the vaccine, begin large-scale manufacturing and reserve 100 million doses.

Trial details: Novavax tested its vaccine in the U.K. during a period when a different variant of the virus — first detected in Britain and more transmissible than earlier versions — began circulating. The company’s analysis of the 15,000-person Phase III trial found that the vaccine was 95.6 percent effective against the original Covid-19 strain and 85.6 percent effective against the U.K. variant, B.1.1.7.

Early data from a separate 4,400-person Phase IIb clinical trial in South Africa found that the vaccine was just 49.4 percent effective against the variant first discovered in that country. More than 92 percent of sequenced PCR samples taken from Covid patients in the South African trial were identified as that variant, which is known as B.1.351.

Novavax says it is developing booster shots of its vaccine to better protect against new strains of Covid and plans to start testing them in people in the second quarter of 2021.

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Health

First US cases of South African coronavirus variant identified in South Carolina

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A mutation of the novel coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa has officially reached the United States. South Carolina health officials on Thursday announced that two cases of the variant — known as B.1.351 — were identified in two residents with no recent travel history, suggesting they were locally acquired. 

Officials with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in a news release said they were contacted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after genome sequencing of a South Carolina sample was found to be the variant. 

Both cases were identified in adults, “one from Lowcountry and one from the Pee Dee region,” officials said, noting that “there is no known travel history and no connection between these two cases.”

“The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 variant in our state is an important reminder to all South Carolinians that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” said DHEC Interim Public Health Director, Dr. Brannon Traxler, in a statement. 

PFIZER VACCINE BELIEVED TO BE EFFECTIVE ON CORONAVIRUS VARIANTS: WHAT TO KNOW

“We know that viruses mutate to live and live to mutate,” Traxler added. “That’s why it’s critical that we all continue to do our part by taking small actions that make a big difference. These include wearing our masks, staying at least six feet apart from others, avoiding large crowds, washing our hands, getting tested often, and when we can, getting vaccinated. These are the best tools for preventing the spread of the virus, no matter the strain.”

While experts have said that the South African variant is more transmissible than COVID-19, they do not think that it is more virulent, meaning it is not more likely to cause more severe illness. 

The CDC reiterated this in a statement on Thursday, saying, in part, that the federal agency is “early in its efforts to understand this variant and will continue to provide updates as we learn more. At this time, we have no evidence that infections by this variant cause more severe disease.”

“CDC will continue communicating with international, state, and local partners to monitor the presence and impact of variants in the United States and around the world. Monitoring variants is why CDC has expanded National SARS-CoV-2 Strain Surveillance (NS3). We continue working with national reference laboratories, state health departments and researchers from around the country to gather sequence data and increase use of genomic sequencing data in response to this pandemic,” the CDC continued, adding that it recommends people “avoid travel at this time.”

Additionally, experts have stressed that existing coronavirus vaccines will likely remain effective against the variant, with Moderna — its COVID-19 jab was the second to see emergency approval in the U.S. — expressing confidence in its vaccine’s ability to remain effective against emerging strains of the virus, including the South African variant and a separate variant first identified in the United Kingdom, following results from a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

The company had been conducting in vitro neutralization studies of sera from individuals vaccinated with the Moderna vaccine that was then exposed to the newly detected variants.

The results from the trial show no significant impact on the vaccine’s effectiveness of neutralizing the virus, despite the introduction of new variants. However, the company will forge ahead with plans to test a booster shot “to further increase neutralizing titers against emerging strains,” it said, as well as advance another variant booster candidate specifically against the South African variant.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

Separately, Pfizer and BioNTech —  the companies’ COVID-19 jab was the first to see emergency approval in the U.S. —  already voiced confidence in their COVID-19 vaccine’s ability to protect against new variants. Earlier in January, the companies posted a yet-to-be peer-reviewed study that showed the jab remained effective against both the U.K. and South African strains.

Prior to its discovery in the U.S., the B.1.351 variant had already been identified in more than 30 countries around the world. 

Fox News’ Alexandria Hein contributed to this report. 

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Health

Studies of South African Coronavirus Strain Raise Concerns About Immune Response

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JOHANNESBURG—Three new laboratory studies are raising concerns that the immune response triggered by a Covid-19 infection or vaccination may be less effective at protecting against the new strain of the coronavirus that first emerged in South Africa.

The findings come from experiments done in the laboratory and only look at certain elements of a body’s immune response. Still, they reinforce the possibility that vaccine makers and regulators will need to update Covid-19 vaccines as the virus evolves.

A fourth study, conducted by scientists at BioNTech SE and Pfizer Inc. and published by the companies, showed that their vaccine successfully neutralized a variant that was initially detected in the U.K. That study didn’t include the South African strain.

The U.K. variant has already spread to many other countries, including the U.S.

More than a year into the pandemic, the discovery of new variants that appear to have made the virus more contagious is forcing researchers to adapt their understanding of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. One concern, researchers said, is that the new strains are emerging in countries where a significant percentage of people have already built up an immune response to earlier variants after getting Covid-19.

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